CO-CAPTAIN GREYSON — “I actually have a ‘co-captain.’ He is a 5-year-old little boy, his name is Greyson Alexander. He and his family live in Eustis, and he’s about halfway through his leukemia treatments right now, and of course, we’re rooting him on to get to the checkered flag and finish [his treatments],” Capt. Flowers said.
Capt. Scott “Red” Flowers has embarked on a great adventure for a meaningful cause. Capt. Flowers, a Stage 4 cancer survivor himself, is in the midst of completing one epic boating endeavor.
In an ambitious fundraising effort to support the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, Capt. Flowers departed from the Lake Beresford Yacht Club in DeLand June 15 for what adventuring boaters call “The Great Loop.”
According to America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association, “The Great Loop is a circumnavigation of the eastern U.S., and part of Canada. The route includes the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the New York State Canals, the Canadian Canals, the Great Lakes, the inland rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico. ‘Loopers’ take on this adventure of a lifetime aboard their own boat.”
Capt. Flowers is traveling in a 28-foot, open cockpit boat, donated by Canyon Bay Boats, with additional sponsorship that includes The Weather Channel. As of publication, $205,000 of the million-dollar goal has been raised.
Capt. Flowers is joined by DeLandites Scott Schwerdfeger and veterinarian Dr. Michael Bailey. “Michael is going to jump off somewhere up around Chicago. He has other commitments he has to meet, so he’ll jump off the boat and Uber to an airport, and find his way home,” Capt. Flowers said. At the time of publication, Capt. Flowers and his team had reached of Lake Huron!
Capt. Flowers, a veteran charter fishing captain of 43 years, was inspired to raise funds for pediatric cancer research following his own 2017 melanoma diagnosis.
“I started some pretty aggressive treatments — it went on for years, and that’s where my wife and I saw kids in [pediatric cancer care]. We got to know the families and got to know some of the kids,” Capt. Flowers said.
“Unfortunately, some of them weren’t successful in their treatments, and it just about ruined me having to see that every day. It stuck with me for a long time, and [my wife and I] made a commitment that if we got out of this in one piece, we were certainly going to do something, and here we are,” Capt. Flowers said.
Capt. Flowers recalls his introduction to the concept of “The Great Loop,” when one day, a seafaring friend described a retirement goal of exploring the waterways that span a minimum of 5,250 miles, through 15 states, and with routes that lead boaters from Canadian to Caribbean waters.
According to America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association, “The Great Loop has been done in as little as six weeks and in as much as 12 years. Traditionally, Loopers have spent about a year on the route.”
Capt. Flowers was intrigued, and a plan to incorporate his boating expertise into a fundraising opportunity began to materialize.
THE JOURNEY AHEAD — Capt. Scott “Red” Flowers, Dr. Mike Bailey and Scott Schwerdfeger aboard the Survivor II, donated by Canyon Bay Boats.
“After doing some research … I thought, ‘Well you know what? I’m a pretty competitive guy.’ I drove some race boats for different marine manufacturers when I was younger … and I said, ‘I believe I can do that and set a record … and why don’t we just overlay [pediatric cancer fundraising] with this, and raise money along the way? And maybe we can raise $20,000 to give to them and change somebody’s life,” Capt. Flowers said.
“It went from raising $20,000 to — I recently ran my mouth and said, ‘We’re going to raise a million.’ We’re going to raise a million dollars one way or the other … the campaign will not be over if, when I get home we don’t have this — we will go on to something else and continue raising money to get them what they deserve,” Capt. Flowers said determinedly. “It started out small, and boy, I’ll tell you, this thing has really [grown] … I’m proud of that.”
Capt. Flowers’ intention is to complete the journey in no more than 40 days, and this is no pleasure cruise.
“Without a doubt, we are going to deal with changing weather every day. We’re going to deal with high seas, we’re going to deal with dangerous conditions,” Capt. Flowers said. “No day is going to be the same. When we get up and get moving, I’ll have to go through the weather … see if we have to deviate anywhere, but in most cases, we’re just going to have to push through it. Get to a safe speed and push through it. That’s going to be our biggest challenge.”
“The second biggest challenge is the endurance part of it. We’re sleeping on a boat that is not designed to be slept on. It’s a fishing boat, it has no cabin,” Capt. Flowers said.
“It’s the same kind of boat that I’ve always made a living out of … we’re going to sleep on the deck of the boat. It’s not going to be easy, [but] our theory is: we can certainly suffer for this period of time for what the kids are going through,” Capt. Flowers said, in describing how he plans to face potential discomforts or challenges of the journey.
“I think I have a shot at this … however, if it comes to safety or etiquette on the water, I’ll deviate from the world record in about 2 seconds, but we’re still going to raise the money for the cancer research for the kids,” Capt. Flowers said.
Follow along with Capt. Flowers via a tracking program on https://canyonbayboatworks.com/great-loop-map/
If you would like to make a donation, visit the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation website at https://give.nationalpcf.org/event/the-great-loop-challenge-2024/e579333?c_src=MainWeb&c_src2=EventPage
How about adding the link to where you can donate in the article?